Testing Bonds
by WolfenReaper
Summary: What happens when the council has the great idea of putting two misfit aliens and a rogue Cerberus biotic in a three man team? When Admiral Hackett issues the order for the three uncooperative personnel to work together as a squad, they may just end up doing each other some good. Will Kai Leng get in the way? Rated M for various reasons. All characters apart from Kai Leng are OC


Admiral Hackett sat in his large leather chair, behind his white metal desk, with an apparent frown as he looked over at two new alien arrivals and the numerous humans in the room. He was tapping his fingers on the desk impatiently as he waited.

A young Quarian woman in a black and neon green suit was stood with her arms folded across her chest in the middle of the floor, her green visor tinting the glow of her eyes behind it. Next to her stood a large Turian in black armour accented with gold patterns here and there, his helmet held between his arm and his waist, his dark blue eyes, three lined facial scar and bright red clan markings, made him look quite intimidating. They were both becoming rather impatient as minutes ticked by and they were constantly stared at awkwardly by the humans in the room.

Admiral Hackett stopped tapping the table when the only door to the room slid open to allow the last arrivals through. A group of four humans stepped into the room with what seemed to be another human in tight fitting silver armour with gold accents, his helmet still in place. His wrists were chained together and he was being led by the arms by two of the humans walking next to him, one of which was holding a long katana in a black sheath, its golden hilt visible to all. Once he was level with the two aliens, who both stared at him oddly, only the two humans holding him stayed where they were the rest moved to the sides of the room. The Turian eyed the man oddly and almost immediately noticed the gold, orange and black insignia on his shoulder plates.

'He's Cerberus?'

The Quarian had noted this too but wasn't about to jump to any conclusions so she waited for the admiral to speak.

"What took you so long Lieutenant?" He grumbled as he turned to look at the human carrying the sword. He immediately saluted and then bowed his head in apology.

"Sorry sir we were having trouble trying to get his helmet off to check for any bugs." He seemed to slightly glare at the man next to him who just shrugged lightly. "I don't like removing my helmet and there are no bugs…" his voice was oddly soothing even through the helmet and he didn't sound at all angry, just impatient. Hackett exhaled loudly which brought the two men back to attention.

"He's already been checked so there was no need to panic about such a thing."

The Quarian looked at the human next to her who stood just a few inches taller than her and whispered to him. "What is it with almost every race being scared of people who wear helmets? I swear they have something against helmets." He seemed a little shocked by the sudden conversation and replied whilst momentarily stuttering.

"W-well I, I suppose they have their reasons, in my case anyway…Why?" he asked as he turned his shiny orange tinted visor in her direction momentarily. She laughed lightly as she answered. "For some reason the humans keep tapping my helmet and trying to get me to take it off, you see that guy in the corner pouting, well he tried and failed." The Quarians voice was rather interesting to the human especially with her accent and the way she made sure to pronounce every syllable. He let out a chuckle "I suppose the unknown interests and yet scares people." With that said he lapsed back into silence after receiving a glare from Hackett.

"Now that I have your attention I would like to get down to briefing all three of you." His tone wasn't threatening but it was serious enough to make the air in the room tense with anticipation. "Now that we have established an alliance with both your species, it has been decided that you three will be a team of specialists that run missions together." Hackett took a deep breath before continuing "We will give you a ship to share and any necessary equipment you will need and all we expect from you three, is for you to work as a team and fulfil your requirements through missions."

The three of them looked sideways at one another awkwardly as the Admiral gestured to the Lieutenant to remove the human's handcuffs. The Turian seemed hesitant "Do you really think it is wise to remove the Cerberus operatives handcuffs?" his voice was low and harmonic as he looked over at the human sceptically. The Quarian laughed and then taunted the alien that was more than a head taller than her.

"Aw what's the matter? Is the big bad Turian scared of a little human?" she watched as the Turian seemed to pout and then both turned to look at the Admiral when he spoke. "He no longer works for Cerberus, he's Alliance now, but we still have our eye on you." He looked at the human to show he was serious.

The handcuffs jangled as they unlocked and fell from his wrists with a clang. The human looked over to the Turian. "If I had wanted to do anything I would have. Those handcuffs only stop me from using my biotics, nothing more."

Admiral Hackett then showed them to their ship and dismissed them but not before speaking to the human biotic "These two are your comrades now, defend them as you did the humans." They entered and all stood around oddly wondering what exactly was going to happen next.

The Turian introduced himself first breaking the ice. "The name's Nectra Cronos a pleasure to meet you."

The Quarian went next "I'm Lina." The Turian looked at her as though he was waiting for something but she stayed quiet "Well that's different to how a Quarian normally introduces themselves." He received a glowing glare for saying that as she poked at his chest plate. "Yeah well I'm not your normal Quarian so bite me! Or better yet bite him, you've been staring at him since he arrived." she pointed to the ex-Cerberus operative who took a step away from them shaking his head. The Turian groaned loudly and both aliens turned to look at the one team member who had yet to give his name.

"I um…Are names important?" He didn't seem to be joking as the two of them looked at him in disbelief. Nectra reacted first "Don't tell me…You don't have a name?" His eyes widened as the human nodded in reply "I was made by and belonged to Cerberus so I never really had need of a name. We are called what we are, for example troopers and phantoms, those are what qualify as our names."

Lina began to ramble "Ooh so if a phantom is an agile female that uses tech and a sword and you're, by the looks of it, an agile male who uses biotics and a sword so you would be..?" she trailed off as the cog in her head visibly clicked. The human finished her sentence "I am the slayer."

Nectra hummed to himself a moment and put a talon to his chin as he studied the human "I've never seen a slayer on the battlefield before. Are you the only one?" The slayer looked up at him. "Well I was made to be a replacement of Kai Leng. So as far as I know I am the only one."

Lina brought up her omni tool "Well now you can look for a name but until you find one we'll just call you slayer. I'll send a few name lists over to your omni tool so you can pick one." Nectra laughed and then pretended to plead with the young woman "He's like a lost Varren we are adopting, can we keep him mum can we please?" Lina glared sideways at the precocious male. "Did you just call me mum?"

Slayer watched the two aliens squabble a little more and then whilst looking through the name books Lina had sent him on his omni tool, wandered over to were one of the crew members was studying his katana and trying to remove it from it sheath with little to no luck. He stood in front of the man a few moments before taking hold of the swords grip with one hand and casually drew it from its sheath. The man looked at him and then at the sword in fascination and Slayer noticed, he slowly passed the sword down the man whilst holding it flat on the blade and handle.

"You can hold it if you're interested but be careful not to hurt yourself."

The man nodded in thanks and cheerfully grasped the sword which was heavier than he had expected once Slayer had released his grip on it. Slayer left his katana with the crew member and walked off towards the starboard observation deck.

Lina argued with the hearty Turian a little longer, noticing the absence of the human, and then soon decided to go down to the deck for engineering. She preferred places where she could hear the humming and buzzing of machines and everything was dimmed out by electricity, it helped her think when her surroundings were far from quiet. She soon purred at as she looked at the ships engine and played with the different types of tech that were available to her.

Nectra watched the other two leave, still laughing to himself as he wandered around the ship surveying the crew and eventually ended up back at the galaxy map. He set a course for the citadel and left the pilot and crew to do their work as he stepped into the lounge where he grabbed a light drink from the bar.

Once they had arrived at the citadel Nectra used the ship com to tell Lina and Slayer to meet him at the gunsmiths and had soon sped off the ship. Lina sighed as she left the engineering deck and used the elevator to get to the ships exit. She bumped into Slayer as she stepped out of the elevator who then apologised profusely while moving back almost a meter. Lina was a little taken aback by his reaction but didn't say anything about it.

"Did you find a name you like?" She asked him as he continued to stare at his omni tool. He nodded and then showed her the two he was trying to decide from. She read the names in her mind and then after looking at him a few times over decided.

"I think that the name Kenshin sounds better, but that's just my opinion."

The human stared at her through his visor for a few moments as if mulling over the name is his mind. "Kenshin…Kenshin…I think it sounds fine. I shall go by that name from now on then." He seemed content and was about to walk away when Lina spoke again.

"Aren't you coming to the gunsmith's with us?" Kenshin held his hands up and shook his head. "I am a little hesitant about stepping foot on the citadel when it was attacked by Cerberus not too long ago and my armour still has the insignia on it." Lina looked at the insignia on his shoulders and shook her head. "You'll be fine as long as you stick close to me and don't make any sudden movements." She laughed lightly after she had finished her sentence and almost half-dragged him off of the ship once he had retrieved his sword from the other crew member. He attached the sword into the metal armour on his back.

He was avoiding all physical contact with people in general as they caught up with Nectra and every time someone got close would move away giving them more room than needed to walk passed him. Lina found it odd but carried on in front of the two males until they reached the gunsmith listening to the two men talk.

"So wait a minute , if you're ex-Cerberus then does that mean you have implants and the sort that make you into a husk?" Nectra had been thinking about that question for a while and couldn't help but be curious about the answer. Kenshin grimaced awkwardly "Uh…well I look a little different and have newly modified implants that enhance my biotics and physical constitution…but no I don't look like a husk and the inside of my mouth doesn't glow…at least I don't think it does."

Nectra laughed as he looked down at the human "You somehow notice the weirdest things and what do you mean you look a little different?"

Kenshin's helmet dropped to look at the floor as he walked "Well my eyes glow and are…synthetic in appearance, and I have markings on my skin that do the same, but other than that and the many pieces of new and enhanced tech inside my body…I'm pretty much human…"

Nectra almost laughed "Pretty much." He pat the human on the back and then added "So, have you chosen a name yet? Calling you what you are doesn't really fit right with me."

"Kenshin…My name is Kenshin."

Nectra smiled and brought his hand down on Kenshin's helmet twice which made a loud clinking noise of metal on metal. Kenshin grimaced and held his helmet "That's a good name for a fighter."

They continued in silence until the three stopped next to a small terminal for a weapon manufacturer, Lina brought up her omni tool and checked her credits at which point Kenshin and Nectra did the same. "It appears Admiral Hackett has forwarded some of the funds for our gear already, this should be more than enough to buy some equipment. Nectra nodded and began searching for something on the terminal. "I'm going to buy the newest upgrade for my sniper, I'll be so happy once my baby is all set and ready to fire!"

Kenshin tilted his head at the giddy Turian "What type of sniper rifle is your 'baby'?" he asked curiously. Lina shuffled over to take a look at what he was ordering "A black widow?! How did you get one of those they're only in the prototype stage?! So unfair…" she grumbled. Nectra looked off to the side wistfully "I have friends in high places. Anyway I have what I need so I'll let you guys take a look now." While saying this he took a step out of the way and made sure the guns were being delivered straight to the ship.

Lina browsed through the heavy pistols and shifted slightly as she checked through different enhancements, she soon settled for an M-358 Talon and smiled as she switched to looking at sniper rifle mods. She had soon acquired a few for an M-98 Widow and was giggling at Nectra "That's my baby!"

Kenshin went next slowly perusing the wears until his interest came to rest upon a black SMG named the N7 Hurricane. He looked through the components and different stats and eventually decided that this was the gun he wanted. He bought it and then shifted over to where the other two were now leaning against a railing. Lina turned to look over at him once he approached "Have you got what you need?" she asked and was satisfied with the small nod she got in return. All three of them took a calm stroll through the citadel market floor and Nectra couldn't help but notice the many glares and odd reactions people had towards Kenshin 'Well even I'm still cautious about him so it's not surprising that they would be with that armour."

They walked along quietly until they reached the ship once again and boarded it all at once. The crew members were all of mixed species but seemed to be getting along rather well, for now. Kenshin immediately made a b-line for the starboard observation deck that he had made into his own private room, and had to stop to avoid tripping over the young male human who he had allowed to examine his sword earlier. He stepped back a little as the young human approached him.

"Sir, I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier as I was too interested in your sword to remember my manners, you may reprimand me for that if you wish, my name is Towa Kogami I am this ship's pilot." The man saluted with a light pink hue showing on his cheeks. Kenshin seemed rather taken aback by his actions and didn't really know how to react.

"Y-you don't need to be so formal. I'm not used to being treated with such respect and I-I don't know how to respond." Kenshin stuttered slightly as he spoke which caused the young man to giggle. Kenshin looked down upon the shorter male who was rather thin and cutesy looking, he had ruffled and wavy baby pink hair and deep brown eyes, he regained his composure as Kenshin stuttered out another sentence. "Sorry…my name is Kenshin it is…interesting to make your acquaintance." He didn't know how to tell the human that he wanted to get past without being rude.

Lina who had been talking to one of the other Quarians on the ship was now watching the awkward exchange between the pilot and Kenshin and could see his shoulders tensing as though he wanted to say something but couldn't. She stepped over to where they were both stood and looked at the smaller human who was a few inches shorter than her. She noted the amount of strange admiration he was showing to Kenshin who just seemed confused to say the least.

"Well you guys seem to be having fun, mind if I join the conversation?" she asked as both men turned to look at her, the pink haired man smiled at her sweetly as he introduced himself once again as the pilot. "Oh I was wondering who was flying this thing, well at least it's someone cute." She laughed as the small man blushed awkwardly and then looked over at Kenshin who was a silent as silent could be. He looked at Lina and the pilot and then finally spoke "If you will excuse me, it was nice to meet you but may I get passed you please?" both of them stepped aside as Kenshin stepped past them "Thank you, if you need me I will be in the starboard observation deck." He bowed his head slightly at the two of them who returned the gesture, the pilot saluting as he walked away with proud steps. Lina watched him leave as Nectra stepped over to the two of them "Well Kogami it's about time we put your skills to work, we have a mission to attend to." The pilot saluted with a nod and then ran to his position in the cockpit as Nectra punched in the coordinates on the galaxy map.

It took a few hours to finally get to where they were headed, a small Cerberus base that was situated within the Gamma quadrant. The three operatives had been briefed that more than one piece of reaper tech was being experimented on by Cerberus and they needed to get the tech and get out, hopefully taking out a few of the enemies soldiers in the process. Nectra took the lead as the shuttle managed to land close to a small platform, they hadn't been spotted yet and the Turian wanted to keep it that way.

"Let's keep this as low key as possible, stick to melee kills and try your hardest not to be seen. Don't get me wrong though, I like a good fire fight when it comes down to it."


End file.
